UpDate - Vol. 11, No. 8, Page 3
October 24, 1991
College of Educations initiativel New program to recruit disadvantaged
  students

     The Pew Charitable Trusts of Philadelphia have awarded the
University of Delaware a $140,000 grant to support its efforts to
improve the recruitment, retention and graduation rate of
disadvantaged students in the College of Education.
     Under the grant, the College of Education will establish a new
program to attract academically prepared, disadvantaged students to
study education at the University. This new program, which is
modeled on the successful RISE Program in the University's College
of Engineering, will provide academic and career-related support
services to assist students in graduating.
     "This grant marks a significant contribution to the
University's overall commitment to increase access to our
programs," University President David P. Roselle said.  "I am
especially pleased to see the success story in one college
inspiring the efforts of another college."
     "The College of Education is especially interested in
attracting minority students to its programs, " Frank B. Murray,
dean of the College of Education, said. "Minorities are
under-represented nationally in the teaching profession. The
minority student population in this country is projected to reach
30 percent by 1995, while the proportion of minority teachers is
expected to be less than 5 percent at that time.
     "This new grant will be most helpful in enabling the College
of Education to broaden the base of its student body and ultimately
the teaching profession," Murray said.
     RISE, one of the most successful university minority
engineering programs in the United States, uses a multi-dimensional
recruitment approach and comprehensive academic support to recruit,
retain and graduate under-represented students in the college.
Among the program's features are a five-week summer academy before
the freshman year,  personal development workshops and personalized
guidance in career choices, monitoring of students' progress and
close communication with students' parents.
     The University's College of Engineering has increased its
minority enrollment from 3.86 percent in 1979 to 12.9 percent in
1991, largely due to RISE and another college program, the Forum to
Advance Minorities in Engineering (FAME/UD).
     The new program in the College of Education will seek to
recruit 10 disadvantaged students for admission in 1992, 10 in 1993
and 15 in 1994, bringing the total enrollment of disadvantaged
students in the college to 27 in 1992, 45 in 1993 and 65 in 1994.
     This program, along with other minority recruitment
initiatives, will be coordinated by the college's Office of Student
Services.
     Under the program, significant support services will be
provided to the students to assure success in the college. Academic
success is defined as the grade point average required for student
teaching, specifically 2.5 overall and 2.75 in the major, on a 4.0
scale.
     Also included in the program will be academic, personal and
career-related assistance in order to graduate an average of 90
percent of the seniors from the program each year, thus increasing
the number of disadvantaged students who are qualified to, and
choose to, enter the teaching profession.
     The College of Education offers two undergraduate degrees. A
program in educational studies leads to the Bachelor of Arts degree
for students who wish to apply the study of education to careers in
such areas as business, law, journalism, publishing and politics.
A program in educational development leads to the Bachelor of
Science degree, which is designed to prepare students for careers
as teachers of normal and exceptional children. The college also
offers programs leading to five master's degrees and the degrees
doctor of education and doctor of philosophy.
     The Pew Charitable Trusts, a national philanthropy based in
Philadelphia, support non-profit activities in the areas of
conservation and the environment, culture, education, health and
human services, public policy and religion. Through their
grantmaking, the Trusts seek to encourage individual development
and personal achievement, cross-disciplinary problem solving and
innovative, practical approaches to meet the changing needs of
society.
     Another program, also based on the RISE Program, has been
initiated to increase the number of minority students in the
College of Business and Economics.